As I sit with my laptop watching the Eagles game (hoping and praying with all I’m worth that they pull out a win against the Cowboys), I am catching my breath from a busy past few weeks. I have had the opportunity to participate in two week-long travel opportunities to Iowa and Indiana, and also have a big trip to New York this upcoming weekend. These past two weeks have carried a variety of emotions and experiences, ranging from of the most fun and fulfilling times I’ve had in a long time to some emotionally challenging and stressful moments as well.

As I pause and reflect on the past two weeks, one of the most prominent feelings I am left with is the feeling of missing. I have not seen my family in about two months (I recognize that I am privileged to have often be able to see them almost monthly throughout college), which is starting to feel like a very long time. I will get to see them very briefly this upcoming weekend when I catch the train to NYC, so as I look forward to that I thought I would write about some of the things I miss most from home.

My Family Members: Right off the bat, I miss my family members the most. I always enjoy calling home, but it is just not the same as being there in person to laugh and talk and go through life together. My mom, dad, and sister and special people to me and although State College has become my second home it cannot replicate the joy and comfort I find in being with them back in Lancaster. The very few remaining times over the next few months are the last season in which it will be the four of us at home, as my sister will be getting married and moving out at the start of the summer. I cherish the times that we have left, but am also super excited to get the brother I never had in just a few short months!

My Dog: I also really miss my dog. My family adopted a 7-year old Golden Retriever named Penny a little less than a year ago, and she has quickly become an integral part of our family. She is very mellow and loves attention, so when I am home it is nice to just curl up with her and relax. Penny has quickly become one of my favorite parts of going home.

Coffee Made By My Sister: My sister is a former barista, so I also miss her homemade coffee drinks from her espresso machine when I am at college. Whether its an iced americano or hot latte, she is good at what she does and I’d put her drinks up against almost any coffee shop I know.

Hometown Friendships: While I have built incredible friendships at Penn State, I also miss many of my friends from home. Many of them are also at college too, but going home reminds me of the friendships I built while I lived in Lancaster. I am always grateful for the times when I do get to connect with the people I miss from home outside of my family.

Sunsets and Farmland: Lancaster County is home to some of the best sunsets and most beautiful country farmland I’ve ever seen. The Centre County hills and fall leaves have been breathtaking the past few weeks, so I am grateful for the variety of scenery I get to call home at different times throughout the year. As fall really sets in and gives way to the coming winter, I can’t wait to be back in the sights and places I grew up in.

Our sense of home and the people/places who make it become all the more real in college. As I prepare for another move (of sorts) in the new year to northern PA for my student teaching placement, the things I miss from home become all the more meaningful in the few opportunities I have to make it back.